


Two Sundowns & One Sunny Side Up

by Theese



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, There are other characters, it's a little old tho, they just kind of don't play as huge of a role
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 06:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14563491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theese/pseuds/Theese
Summary: Leigh Waltman doesn't know what he's doing with his life, and it doesn't help that he's driving somewhere new.[ A little short and has a sudden ending, but it's kind of nice  when I don't think too hard about it. ]





	Two Sundowns & One Sunny Side Up

The sounds of the fading city lingers in Leigh's head long enough for him to feel like he’s back inside the cramped apartment with his mom by his side, but he's not. He’s on the way to some academy on the outskirts of town, and his phone is such a crisp weight in his pocket that he feels like it will drop through at any moment.

“How is it back there?” William Parks asks from the front seat, and Leigh only offers a sigh– _apparently_ , sighing is a relatively Waltman thing to do, but Leigh doesn't linger on it too much. “Thanks for the helpful answer.”

“Sorry,” Leigh whispers, his head pressed against the glass window leading him further away from street lamps and closer to the highway. “Just not really used to being asked those kinds of questions.”

“And that's understandable,” Parks shifts in the passenger seat, “but we’d appreciate a little more cooperation. At least with the harder questions. Tell me this, then: how were you getting along at your old school?”

“Great,” Leigh tries to push down the memories of Mariette and Finn and Rebecca the best he can. “I had grades good enough that I was easily the top fifteen, I had a group of friends who doubled as great tutors, and I don't think I’ve ever had a teacher not comment on my positive traits.”

Parks hums and Leigh hears a pen click and some scribbling on coarse sounding paper. “I expected something a little different, not going to lie.”

“Because of my mother?”

The vehicle goes silent and Parks’s scribbling stops before someone clicks their tongue. “Partially, _yes_ ,” is the answer, and the phone in Leigh's pocket burns a little hotter. “But, I _did_ expect more people to know about your abilities inside and outside of school.”

“I didn't want people to know–being like a Superman isn't something that I would want,” Leigh says, and he doesn't hear Parks make a comment or ask a question, so he continues. “I mean, people would either over exaggerate or get me locked up, and I don't want either. I just want to exist without complication.”

“Sorry to say, but that's a very idealistic thing to hope for,” Parks replies, and the pen clicks a few times before he turns to him from the passenger seat, his elbow resting on the box sitting between him and the driver. “I do commend you for it.”

“You could say that about Wilson and his fourteen points, couldn't you?”

“You really are a smart kid,” Parks looks a little surprised and he just slinks back out of view, hidden almost entirely by the seat. “I’ll give you something a little easier to talk about, then. Who were your friends at your high school?”

Leigh's head perks up from the window and he feels his stomach grow more unsettled as he thinks about the question. “Why are you asking?”

“I’m honestly just interested in what your environment was like before your abilities manifested so suddenly.”

Leigh gives the back of Parks’s seat a pointed look before he just sighs and rubs at his eyes. He’s much too tired for this, and a silence in response to his question would only bring more questions bubbling up from somewhere. 

“There was Mariette DeMere, Finn Harding, and Rebecca McCall,” Leigh mumbles, picking at his fingernails as memories of them pulse behind his retinas. “They're good people, and they’ve helped me out more than once in school.”

“Did you have problems?”

Leigh frowns and tips his head up. “No, not the ones you're thinking of. Just problems with things I don't understand in class or when I don't have anyone to cover my shift at the gas station–sometimes they even drive me home.”

Parks scribbles something down before the car slows and Leigh sees them pulling into a rather large parking lot that is surrounded by enough buildings and lamps to make Leigh wonder if he really got out of the city. Parks unbuckles his seatbelt before Leigh can get a question in. 

“Come on, let's go inside and see if we can get you settled in until tomorrow,” Parks says before stepping out the car and gathering all of his papers from the front seat–Leigh gets to watch the clicking pen go into one of Parks’s pockets before the door is closed and Leigh takes it as his cue to get out, too.

“What do you mean by ' _until tomorrow_ ,’ Sir?” Leigh asks once he's gathered himself out of the car with his Wal-Mart bag full of clothes clutched as tight as he can get it in his hand.

“The kids are out at Spring Break right now, so not many are on campus,” Parks says, and Leigh just frowns before he holds up a calming hand. “Which means that the rooming will be rather tight since students have already been signed up for the school year and everything. The room you sleep in tonight will probably be a student's room and not the room you will actually be staying in for the duration of the school year.”

“Will the room be empty?”

“Yes, we’ll make sure of it.” 

With that, Parks leads Leigh off towards one of the taller buildings, and the scent of something sweet surrounds them once Parks unlocks one of the doors and leads Leigh through a rather large foyer-esque room. The sight of tables, couches, and an entertainment center makes something in Leigh's stomach twist. The phone in his pocket feels like it could burst into flames in a matter of seconds, and it doesn't feel as comforting as his mom made it seem. 

“The second floor has very few students, so go ahead and take the final door on the right,” Parks says, and then he stops at the edge of the stars. “Go ahead, I still have other matters to attend to with your paperwork and documentation. Sleep well.”

“You too,” Leigh replies before he travels past Parks and up the stairs. 

The upper level feels different than the well lit foyer, and the window at the end of the hall allows light from one of the lamps outside to get in easily. The walk to the room is easy, and a glance out of the window reveals little more than another side of the parking lot and a street light illuminating the area around it. 

Without a problem, Leigh enters his room and doesn't bother to even flip on a light before he quickly collapses into his bed. The door lets in some of the light, and the idea that it's open makes Leigh shift, stare at it, and stand. The time for sleep is later; he needs to text everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> every name mentioned in here honestly has a role in a larger story so this will just be me dipping my feet into the waters of reception here on AO3 and seeing how this goes.  
> hopefully, as a whole, it will of better than my previous work.


End file.
